Fly Fast
by ninjadevil2000
Summary: Charlie Weasley is called to Egypt by his old friend and mentor when rumors of a dragon smuggling ring surface. Rated T for one instance of language


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Newt Scamander, Charlie Weasley, or a dragon sadly. But the character Sebastian Ahmed is mine. **

**Author's Note: I had a lot of fun creating this OC and writing this fic so please read and review. This story was originally 4.4k words but I had to trim a lot out to make the maximum word count. There was originally supposed to be a lot more action and content so if it seems like it's missing pieces, it's just as I just said, word limits got in the way. **

**Written for IWSC Round 2**

**School and Year: Mahoutokoro, Year 3**

**Theme: Department for International Magical Cooperation - I implemented this by involving an OC main character from a foreign country (Egypt) and actually having the setting as a foreign country (Egypt). **

**Main Prompt: [Behavior] Sneaky**

**Additional Prompts: [Emotion] Excitement and [Genre] Crime**

**Word Count: 3299 (one word under the limit)**

**Judge's notes: I decided to use the name "Sebastian" because of the Egyptian name "Bast" which means heat, light, or the sun. I thought this would work perfectly for a Dragonologist, so he's named Sebastian.**

**And another fact: Osiris is the name of the Egyptian god of the Underworld; the name means powerful and mighty so I thought it was perfect for a Hippogriff.**

**Thank you Liz and Sophie for betaing. This story would definitely not be this great without you two *sending virtual hugs and cookies your way***

* * *

Charlie entered his small cabin that evening, having finished another day's work of training the latest dragon litter. He thought of how good one of his mother's home-cooked meals would taste right now, but before his mouth could water anymore, an owl flew in through the window and landed on the table. It hopped over to Charlie, holding its leg out.

"Hello," Charlie said. "Who are you from?" He untied the letter from the owl's foot and couldn't help but smile when he saw the sender's name. He hadn't heard from Sebastian Ahmed, his old mentor, in ages. He unrolled the letter, eager to see what Sebastian had to say, but as he read the letter, the excitement faded, replaced with anger.

_Dear Charlie, _

_I need you to come to Cairo immediately. I've just received a report of a possible dragon smuggling ring operating just south of Aswan, near Lake Nasser. I don't know if the rumors can be trusted, but if so, we have a big problem on our hands. One person has said that they've seen dragons chained up near an old cave. Another person has reported traces of dragon blood and torn scales. I can't handle this by myself, but we don't want this amassing to anything bigger than it already is, so come alone._

_I'll meet you at my place two days from now, around sunset. From there, we'll go investigate while it's dark. Bring your wits with you, Charlie. _

_\- Sebastian _

Charlie looked at the date and saw that he would have to leave tomorrow morning. He was enraged by the situation, but he couldn't help feeling somewhat excited. Charlie always longed for adventure, and the prospect of seeing his old mentor again made him even more eager.

The next morning, he was up in the clouds, his rucksack on his back and the warm summer wind whipping through his long hair.

* * *

"Seb!" Charlie cried as he landed in front of a small house. "It's so good to see you!"

Charlie leapt off his broom and hugged his old teacher warmly. Sebastian Ahmed was a shorter man with short black hair and very tanned skin, thanks to the Egyptian sun. He was lean and muscular like Charlie, a perk of constantly dealing with magical creatures. He was young too, only four years older than Charlie himself, but he had had experiences with dragons and other creatures that Charlie could only dream of witnessing.

"It's good to see you too," Sebastian replied. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances," he added, his smile fading.

Charlie nodded and looked around. "I don't see your normal base of operations," he said. Sebastian usually had a large tent set up near his house for all his magical creatures, but it was no longer there.

"I've switched to a mobile base," Sebastian said. "I'll tell you all about it later. Now, come. You must be tired after your long flight from Romania. And there's someone inside I want you to meet."

Charlie nodded. "What do you know about all of this, Seb? The smuggling, I mean."

"I'll tell you everything I know in a minute." Seb led the way to the front door. "I've got some––" but Charlie didn't catch the rest of Sebastian's sentence.

His eyes were fixed on the third figure in the house, sitting at the small round table. It was him! The world-renowned Magizoologist and Charlie's idol, Newt Scamander!

Charlie dropped his broom and bag to the floor, hurrying forward. "Wow, Mr. Scamander, it's such an honor to meet you! I've read all of your papers and articles and they're amazing. And your book!" Charlie rambled.

Newt nodded politely as he shook hands with Charlie. His hair hung in front of his eyes, but his smile was genuine. "It's nice to meet you as well, Charlie. Sebastian's told me a lot about you. And please, call me Newt. Mr. Scamander is my brother."

When Seb handed him a mug of tea, however, Charlie's smile was soon replaced with seriousness as he remembered his purpose for being here.

"What do you know, Sebastian?" Newt prompted.

Sebastian grimaced as he grabbed a rolled-up parchment from the counter behind him. He unrolled it onto the table, revealing a map of Egypt.

"Here." He laid a finger just below Cairo. "This is where we are now. And this," he slid his finger down to the base of the Nile River where Lake Nasser was, "is where the Ministry reports have been coming from. Just south of Aswan, along the Nile. Reports of sightings of dragon prints, blood, and scales. One person has said that they spotted dragons chained up near an old cave, like I said in the letter."

"Has the Minister released a statement? Dragons are protected under the Egyptian laws, aren't they?" Charlie asked.

Seb shook his head. "They are, but to speak plainly, the Minister can't be bothered by things such as dragon smuggling, even if it's entirely obvious. Here's the thing though: there's no concrete evidence. And that's why I called you two. You're the two people I trust the most."

Charlie glanced at Newt before looking back at Sebastian. "What do you need?"

Seb smiled at him and nodded. "Tonight, I want the three of us to go to where the reports have been coming from. We're the experts, and if we can't find anything, no one can."

Charlie smiled. "I'm in."

* * *

They waited a couple of hours before setting off. Newt had a Pegasus while Sebastian had a young Hippogriff named Osiris. Osiris had gold and bronze feathers with a black beak and black talons, while the Pegasus was pure white, the Egyptian sun dancing off her feathery wings.

"Okay," Sebastian began, looking over the map once more, his lit wand hovering over the parchment. "Let's fly straight south. Then, when we hit Lake Nasser, we'll head East."

And they took flight.

To Charlie's relief, the Egyptian moon was bright that night and the skies were free of clouds, so despite the hour, it was bright as they flew over the desert sands. Charlie could even see the outlines of the Pyramids of Giza to his right.

"I wanted to fly during the evening in case they had scouts or were on the lookout for followers, but we're not going to be able to find any clues in the dark," Seb called to them with an apologetic frown. "I have a feeling I was just being superstitious."

Charlie shrugged. "It's alright, Seb," he called back. "Why don't we land and get some sleep? Besides, my backside feels raw from so many hours on the broom."

Seb and Newt both laughed, the wind carrying the sound.

"Fair enough," Newt said. The wind had brushed his hair out of his eyes and there was a genuine look of happiness on his face. Charlie knew that the mission they were on was dangerous, but it was nice, getting to be with people such as himself. People like Newt and Sebastian, two men who felt the way he did about creatures, two men he'd looked up to for a long time.

* * *

The next morning, Charlie awoke with Newt and Sebastian before they started flying again. They didn't have to go very far before they found what they were looking for though.

"Seb!" Charlie called over the wind.

Sebastian turned and looked at him from his perch on Osiris. Charlie pointed downwards at what he had just seen. It was a twisting line that looked like a red thread from their height, but as they descended, they saw that it was shiny and liquid-like.

All three Magizoologists exchanged a look before landing a few feet away from where the red began. Charlie ran towards it, both eager and nervous to confirm what it was. As he got closer, he recognized it instantly. Thick and glutenous. Large drops and small streams of scarlet blood coating the sand, shining bright in the sunlight.

The three exchanged another look. "Dragon blood," Newt said.

Charlie nodded. "What do you think happened?" he asked, turning to Sebastian, dreading the answer he already knew.

"Smugglers," Sebastian said.

Charlie clenched his fists. "Let's go." He turned and ran back towards his broom, Newt and Sebastian right behind him. They set off at top speed again, flying lower now so they wouldn't miss any clues.

Some time later, they saw numerous dragon scales scattered across the desert sands. Then, more scales and even more blood, an alarming amount of it. Soon, mere flying wasn't enough for Charlie. He wanted to find whoever was hurting these magnificent creatures and bring them to justice.

At last, he slowed down, spotting something different from what they had previously seen. Smoke. It came from behind a towering sand dune, swirling and spiraling in a thick column. Charlie recognized it instantly.

Dragons.

The other two recognized it as well, and the three wizards landed.

"What do we do?" Charlie asked, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief and drinking the jet of water he had just conjured from his wand. "That's obviously where the dragons are. I could recognize dragon breath patterns from a mile away."

"I say we wait until nightfall and then sneak up to the ring to see what we can find," Newt said wisely.

Sebastian nodded. "I agree."

"But that's hours away," Charlie said. "Who knows what these monsters are doing to them right now! We have to stop them!"

"Charlie, take it easy," Sebastian said, coming over and laying a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "We have to be smart about this. Even with Disillusionment Charms, we don't know what kind of protective enchantments or guards they might have in place. We need to wait until it's darker, and then we can get a closer look with a lesser chance of being seen."

Charlie hesitated before giving a stiff nod. With his nerves trembling in anticipation, he decided to busy himself by looking at their maps, but after looking at them for nearly an hour, Charlie tossed the maps aside and stood.

"I'm going over the ridge," he said. He added quickly, "I'll be careful, but I have to know what's going on. We're never gonna figure out what to do if we don't even know what's happening."

"I'm coming too," Newt said after a moment. He stood up alongside Charlie. The young man felt himself blush. His idol had just agreed with him!

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Oh, Charlie," he sighed. "You've always been too reckless for your own good. Alright then." He stood up, and the three of them took their wands out, twirling them around their own forms. Charlie felt the distinct feeling of coolness drip over him, and when he looked down at his body, his skin and clothing had taken on the color of the sand around him. He glanced to where he knew Seb and Newt were standing and realized that he could only make out their forms if he squinted. Otherwise, he'd have thought it was a heat haze.

"Let's go," Newt said, his near-invisible form passing Charlie. They hurried up the side of the dune. It was tall but not too steep. When they reached the top, they paused and peered over the edge. There, well-protected from all sides by dunes, was a troupe of dragon smugglers. They all wore thick leather and were gathered in a circle between four tents. They saw nine men altogether.

But the three Magizoologists' eyes were immediately drawn to the dragons. They were all chained together, lying in a heap. Charlie counted eleven, one an older female, the others all young.

The female was blowing small jets of fire out of her mouth, one after the other, but Charlie could tell she was getting weak. Every gulf of fire was smaller than the one before it, the columns of smoke growing thinner.

Newt swore.

"How long ago was the first report?" Charlie whispered, turning to where he assumed Sebastian was. "How long have they been held hostage?"

"The first report came in almost two weeks ago."

"Shit." Charlie shook his head. "Damn these monsters."

* * *

After much discussion, they decided it would be safest to try and take out the smugglers that evening, and then deal with the dragons the next morning.

Charlie paced a lot that afternoon, and he could tell that Sebastian, despite his outwardly calm facade, was anxious as well. His old mentor would periodically send small flurries of sparks into the air from his wand tip or run his hand through his hair, while Newt would fidget with his hands, twirling his wand between his fingers.

At last, the sun started to sink over the horizon, growing brighter and brighter until finally, it was gone, replaced with a bright moon. The temperature dropped fast, and the three had to douse themselves with some warming spells before continuing with the plan.

"Alright, Charlie," Newt said as they crept back up the side of the sand dune. "You'll go and see about the dragons. Check on them from afar; find out what you can about their situation."

Charlie nodded. He took a deep breath before taking off at a run, hunched over so they wouldn't catch any glimpses of him. He reached the far side before leaping over the side of the dune and sliding down its slick slope.

When he came to a stop, he looked to the side, knowing what Newt and Seb were doing at the moment, even if he couldn't see them. The camp had lit a small bonfire in between the tents, and the men sat together in a circle, talking in low voices.

Suddenly, Charlie saw Seb's and Newt's figures, the two Magizoologists standing back-to-back in the middle of the camp. Their wands were held aloft, pointing at the surrounding group. Charlie wanted to watch, but he had his own mission. He looked back at the dragons and went forward to where they were chained up. He made sure to move slowly, for the creatures were already in a threatening position. Should they start to feel any more threatened by his presence, the mother, or even the young ones, could lash out and exhale a mouthful of fire.

Charlie got as close as he could. Close enough to see that the baby dragons had their jaws chained shut. They were all lined up together, chains having seemingly been punched through the youngling's wings, tunneling through one side and out the other. There was also one long chain, latching all the babies together so one couldn't move without jolting the others. They were all of different breeds; the mother was fairly large in size with greenish-brown scales; a Welsh Green. From what Charlie could see, the group of younglings consisted of two Welsh Greens, five Hebridean Blacks, and three Swedish Short Snouts.

Charlie let out a breath, his teeth gritted in fury and anguish. With their wings punctured and possibly infected, there was no way that the babies would be able to fly for a long time, if ever.

Charlie was slightly relieved to see that the mother didn't have anything in her wings, but her left eye was black and oozy, most likely infected by a curse.

He took a step forward, trying to get a better look at the eye, but before he could make another move, he saw the tip of a wand pointing at him out of the corner of his eye. A man moved in front of him. He was large and burly. His skin was darker than Seb's, and he had a look that told Charlie he was definitely the muscle of the group, not the brains. The man opened his mouth to speak, but Charlie was faster.

He stepped back quickly and lifted his wand. _"Expelliarmus,"_ he muttered. The man's wand flew from his hand before he could react to the sudden movement, and Charlie caught it.

"What are you doing with these dragons?" Charlie asked. He grabbed the man by the collar and shook him, but before the man could answer, Charlie's eyes were drawn to the situation between Newt, Seb, and the other members of the gang.

Red sparks and shouts were being exchanged now. Charlie didn't have time to deal with this individual. Newt and Seb needed his help. He cast a light _Incarcerous_ on the man, binding his feet and arms together but allowing him to at least breathe. Then, he sprinted towards the commotion.

_"__Stupefy!"_ he shouted at one man who had just cast a hex at Newt.

"Thanks," Newt yelled.

Charlie now stood side-by-side with Newt and Sebastian in an odd semicircle. They spun together as one, casting hex after hex at the eight remaining gang members who surrounded them.

"So, talking with them didn't go well, I assume?" Charlie deadpanned as he threw another spell at one man, sending him sprawling onto the sand.

The battle seemed to be going the Magizoologists' way. Once, Newt was hit in the shoulder with a curse. It tore a hole in his shirt and made a hissing noise as it burned his skin. He dropped to his knees, but he fired off another spell, stunning the man who had just burned him.

"Are you okay?" Charlie said, kneeling next to Newt as he threw up a Shield Charm.

"I'll be fine," Newt replied. He held his arm close to his chest as he fired off another spell.

Finally, only one person, who seemed to be the leader, was left standing. The rest had been knocked unconscious or bound up. Newt approached him, aiming his wand at him as he held his own injured arm aloft.

_"__Incarcerous,"_ Newt muttered, binding the man up. Charlie saw an angry look in Newt's eyes, but after the man fell to the ground, losing his balance due to the tight ropes, Newt fell to his knees.

"Charlie, you tend to Newt," Sebastian said. "I'll tie the rest of them up."

Charlie nodded, pocketing his wand and turning to Newt. The Magizoologist author had unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a bright red patch of skin. It was blistered and swollen.

They didn't have any healing potions with them, so all Charlie could do was clean the wound and wrap a cloth around it. Newt said it hurt but not any worse than other injuries he'd dealt with.

"What were you gonna do with the dragons?" Seb asked.

_"__As if it isn't already obvious,"_ Charlie thought.

"Every piece of those monsters is worth more money than any of us have had in our lives," the man replied. "We could get a hundred galleons just for a pint of blood."

"Yeah, it is valuable!" Charlie shouted, turning from Newt. "Valuable to the dragons!"

"Where were you taking them?" Sebastian added.

"Somalia," the man said carelessly.

"And to whom?"

"I know a guy," the man replied with a sneer.

When he was finished cleaning Newt's shoulder, Charlie stood up and went to the dragon enclosure again. Sebastian accompanied him while Newt kept an eye on the gang.

"So, what do we do?" Charlie asked as he and Sebastian unlocked the chains and removed the protective barriers. "With these wing punctures, the little ones won't be flying anytime soon. And that female's eye doesn't look good."

Sebastian sighed. "We'll take it one day at a time," he said. "One of us should fly back tomorrow and get some food and supplies, as well as contact the Ministry. With the smugglers captured and the dragons in this state, they can't possibly continue ignoring us."

Charlie nodded. This certainly had been an adventure. And it wasn't over yet.

* * *

**Author's Note: This story took so much work lol. I would appreciate any reviews or feedback. It would mean a lot. :) Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. **


End file.
